March 11, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denny Fleenor - 206/972-8590 (office)
206/632-4399 (Home)
Workshops Set For Food Direct Marketers
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University is offering workshops on good agricultural and food safety practices for those who direct market food and agricultural products.
Seven workshops are scheduled across the state in March and April.
"The workshops are designed to help those who sell food products at farmers' markets and roadside stands to understand and address critical food safety issues," said Richard Dougherty, WSU food science specialist.
"We'll be discussing food safety issues from the field to the table, including the Food and Drug Administration's voluntary safety guidelines for direct marketers of produce."
Each workshop will begin with a discussion of good agricultural practices, known as GAPs; on-the-farm practices to improve safety of raw products intended for sale with little or no processing, Dougherty said. They include practices that address water quality, worker sanitation and proper use of animal manures.
The first workshop will be March 22, at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, 7612 E. Pioneer Way in Puyallup. Additional workshops will be March 24 in Wenatchee, March 30 in Mount Vernon, April 1 in Issaquah, April 7 in Silverdale, April 13 in Vancouver, and April 15 in Union Gap. All workshops will be 9 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.
Pre-registration is requested. Those interested may register on-line at http://www.emmps.wsu.edu/Eservices/online.html. Cost for the workshops is $10 per person.
For meeting location information and driving directions contact Extension Meeting Management and Program Support at emmps@wsu.edu or 509/335-2811. Contact Dougherty at 509/335-0972 or dougherty@wsu.edu for more information on the program.
The workshops are cooperatively offered by WSU Extension, WSU Small Farms Team, Washington State Department of Agriculture Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program, and the WSDA Food Safety Program.
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